Jimmy Eat World

My Enemy

Jimmy Eat World released their ninth album, Integrity Blues, on October 21, 2016.

There are dangerous and very real consequences for using fear of “The Other” to motivate a potential electorate. While that’s nothing new in politics, what is newly alarming in context of the current presidential campaign, is how seemingly effective that strategy has been for a certain candidate. That candidate used the low-hanging fruit of fearmongering to gain his initial momentum and continues to employ variations of it to sustain his place. The only way to steel yourself against that kind of manipulation is to do the real self-work in discovering and letting go of your own fears. While that pursuit is difficult because it means fighting against your own ego, it remains worth the effort—not just for what it can do for us as individuals but even more for what it can do for our collective society. Are you willing to accept that maybe, just possibly, what you feel as a threat, isn’t?

Lyrics

The story is common
So plain we pass by often
All motion defeated
By endless what-if questions
Obvious
We own it
Our anxious scars and bruises
Heavy hands swing slowly
With weight of our own choosing, now…
Thirsty for comfort
Too proud to ask for answers
Libraries of suggestion
The loudest voice is hidden
Obvious
So simple
Action makes for removal
Heavy heart
Bad posture
Collapse and falling under, now…
We know but can’t believe it’s easy as it sounds
We know but always told if we let go we drown
You feel the tide is rising
That water’s cold as hell
Think enemies surround you
Everyone, except yourself
Your condition,
Fake direction is no protection
Know what you’re really afraid of